8 Of The Best Fred Willard Quotes You Should Know

Comedian and actor Fred Willard recently passed away at the age of 86. Here are 8 of the best Fred Willard quotes you should know.

Comedian and actor Fred Willard passed away on Friday in Los Angeles at the age of 86. Willard was originally born in Shaker Heights, Ohio. After earning a graduate degree in English from the Virginia Military Institute and spending time in the U.S. Army based in Germany, he moved to New York in the early 1960s to pursue acting.

Willard had roles in “Waiting for Guffman,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Family Matters,” “Ally McBeal,” “WALL-E,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,” “New Girl,” “Community,” “Tim & Eric” and “Modern Family.” And he will posthumously appear later this month as Steve Carell’s dad in the Netflix series called “Space Force.” Plus Willard also appeared on a number of late-night TV shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and David Letterman’s shows.

And Willard was especially known for working closely with screenwriter and director Christopher Guest. They have worked together on films like “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best In Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” “For Your Consideration,” “Family Tree,” and “Mascots.”

“My father passed away very peacefully last night at the fantastic age of 86-years-old,” said Willard’s daughter Hope Mulbarger in a statement via Rolling Stone. “He kept moving, working and making us happy until the very end. We loved him so very much! We will miss him forever.”

Here are 8 of the best Fred Willard quotes you should know:

“My father passed away when I was 12, so it was very difficult. But I was always the class clown. I don’t know why – maybe as an escape. But then I was sent away to military prep school.”

“I just admire everybody and sit in awe and watch them.”

“It’s such a pleasure to work in these movies. It’s almost like it’s not really happening.”

“When you get to a certain age, it’s kind of the same thing. There’s no new school to go to, no new teachers. There’s some comfort in that.” (Esquire.com, December 2010)

“Suddenly you’re like a pirate, you’re 65 years old and you’ve got an earring.”

“I think if you have a funny thought, and you want to get off a funny point, try to do it as realistically as you can. If you try to act it funny and accent the funny points, or do it in a funny style, you kind of lose it.”